baker



1. s. BAKER. CAN cooKnmG. MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED AUG- |0. |915. l ,lj' Patented Sept. 2, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l- J. S. BAKER.

CAN COOKING MACHINE.

APPLlcATloN FILED Aue.zo.1915.

1.8M .@72. Patented sept. 2,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

@vih/Lesmo 1 Q J. S. BAKER.

CAN COOKING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 10. 1915. Lmm, Pandsept. 2,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3f JOHN' S. BAKER, 0F IOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR, BY IVIESNE ASSIGIUVIEN'IS, 'IO ANDERSON-BARNGROVER MFG. CO., F SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA.

CAN-COOKING MACHINE.

neiacva.

Specification of Letters Fatent.

Patented dept. 2,- IOIO.

Application iled August 10, 1915. Serial No. 44,789.

` following is a full, clear, andeXact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

lThis invention relates to machinery for treating packaged goods and is especially' adapted .for use in sterilizing and cooking foodscontained in ordinary cylindric cans;

and the object of the invention is to produce a ycooker whereinta plurality of series of cans or packages may be simultaneously fed to and moved through the cooking chamber and moved for greater or less distances therein between their points of entry and discharge;

so 4that two or more cooks cany be performed at the same time in the same cooking chamber; and whereby also it will be possible to perform simultaneously two or more cooks "P requiring different lengths of time for treatment.

It is well known that did'erent kinds of canned goods require di'erent lengths of time for proper cooking or treatment, and my invention will enable the same appa'- ratus to be utilized simultaneously for treating or cooking two or more series of packages containing the same kind of goods simultaneously in theapparatus; and also for simultaneously treating or cooking two or more di'erent kinds of goods for diderent lengths of time. These several diderent operations and novel and useful capabilities of operation of a single apparatus are accomplished by my invention which, specically speaking, comprises a preferably so-called spiral pathway or can way and a plurality of feed devices whereby packages may he introduced onto did'erent runs of said pathway or onto said pathway at diderent points thereof.

The invention further includes a plurality of delivering devices whereby the packages may be discharged from said pat way at diderent points.

rll`he main feature of the present invention is the provision of a plurality of feeds whereby packages may be introduced at different .points into a common pathway, so that with one terminal discharge the packages may be caused to traverse did-erent distances along said athway; and by employing a plurality o feeds and a plurality of discharges thev utility of the apparatus is greatly enhanced, as it enables two or more cooks to be simultaneously performed in the same chamber, and each cook i retained therein for the desired length of time, by feeding packages containing diderent goods to different points of the pathway, and discharging the did'erent cooks at dierent points.

The details of construction of the feeding and delivering devices and of the pathway and means for moving ackages along such way are subordinate tot e principal features of the invention; and in the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a practical apparatiis which embodies the invention, and a description of which will enable those familiar with the art to construct and use the invention. Y

I will explain the apparatus illustrated in such drawings, and summarize in the claims the. essential features and combinations for which protection is desired.

In said drawings:

All

Figure 1 is a longitudinal elevation partly broken away of an apparatus embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan 'view of Fig.. i;

Fig.- .3 is an enlarged detail vertical sectional view of the discharging devices;

Fig. d is a detail transverse sectional view on line 4--4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail plan view of part of the can discharging devices;

Fig. 6 is a detail plan elevation of the discharge means; and

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view of one of the discharge wheels.

Insaid drawings, 1 designates a tank or treating or cooking chamber which is pref erably substantially closed .and is ordi-- narily made of metal.' The form and size of such tank can be varied to suit the builder, and the capacity of the machine.

Within thistank is a preferably spiral pathway for packages, which may be formed of "lV-bars as shown in the drawings,

such pathway being known in the art and not per se claimed herein. The packages or cans maybe caused to traverse this spiral pathway from one end thereof to the other by means of pusher bars 3 extending transversely across the series of runs of the pathway and connected at their outer ends t0 endless vchains 3a"running over sprockets 31 attached to transverse shafts 3 at the opposite ends of the tank. Said shafts may be driven, by suitable gearing, substantially as indicated in the drawings, so :as to cause the chains to move the pusher bars 3 and cause them to push the packages along said spiral pathway in a well known manner.

livers cans to the fifth run of said path-k way. The feeding devices may be constructed alikev and the description of one will explain theothers, similar parts being similarly lettered. l

For simplicity I will describe the machine as adapted to handle cans, but of course the word cans or packages is merely illus- 'trative and not definitive of the invention'.

Each feeding mechanism may 4comprise a rotatable feeding disk 4a mounted on a transverse shaft 4, and provided with pockets 4b each 'adapted to receive a package or can, as the ldisk rotates, from a chute 5, to the cans may be fed, either by hand y an endless chain feed 5b of the usual construction.

The feeding disk 4: is shown as located directly over the top of the related run of the spiral canway, and may be partially closed by a housing or casing 4 (Fig. 1) and as the disk rotates in the direction indicated by the arrows the pockets 4b each receives a can from the chute, andas thisJ pocket reaches the lower side of the disk the can drops by gravity into the canway, the topbars 2 of this canway being notched or cut away as at 2* to permit the cans to freely drop into the adjacent related run of the canway. The can drops in front of one of the pusher bars 3 and -is moved thereby around the canway in the usual manner until it reaches the point of discharge. A 'It will be obvious that if an apparatus having three feeds had but one terminal discharge,

cans or packages could be passed through such machine for'either of threediferent periods of time, assuming the pusher bars 3 to be always traveled at a uniform rate'of machine and enable more than one kind of 4 treatment or cook to be performed at one time on different series of cans, I propose to also use a plurality of discharges; and have shown three discharges in the drawings, at a, b, o, respectively.

Preferably, in the machine shown, discharge a is arranged at the end of the second coil of the canway; discharge I) at the end of the fourth coil of the canway; and discharge c at the end of the sixth coil of the canway; the length of the canway and locations of the feed and deliveries being of course merely illustrativeand notl definitive. These discharge mechanisms in the apparatus shown are constructed alike, and the description of one will explain all similar parts similarly lettered.

The discharges shown are located at the upper side of the pathway, at the end of the machine opposite thefeed; and at each discharge point the bars 2c of the pathway are notched as at 2i to permit the passage of a can upwardly between and above said bars.

Below the top run of the canway, and adj acent notches 2, is a horizontal lever 6, which may be pivoted on a shaft 6n and is ada ted to be swung upwardly into the path o the advancing can, as indicated in'Fig. 3 so that the can must ride up on this lever.

Adjacent the lever 6 and above the top of the related run of the pathway is a lever 7,

' pivoted on a shaft 7 a and adapted to be tilted downward into line with the lever 6, when the latter is in can discharging position (see Fig. 3) so that the can, rolled up on lever 6 will pass onto lever 7 The levers 6 and 7 arey so arranged that when they are in can discharging position they will not interfere with the movement of the can pusher bars 3 which can then pass between the adjacent ends of said levers 6 and 7. The movement of the pusher bars will cause the cans to first ride up on lever 6 and then onto lever 7.

The lever 7 directs the cans into a discharge chute formed between` a curved plate 18 and the periphery of a rotatable discharge wheel 9 mounted on the transverse shaft 19, and driven by suitable means in a direction to cause the cans to pass on around and over the wheel 9 'onto a discharge chute 9" on which they may descend by gravity to a carrier 10 that conveyes them away to a suitable point.

The lever 6 may be raised into working ttl istante l position, when it is desired to discharge cans, by means of a cam 6b pivotally mounted on a transverse shaft 6, and connected by a link 6 with a lever tf extending outside the machine.

When the lever 6 is lowered out of operative position the openings 2i, through-which the cans pass out to the discharge, may be closed by means of'a slide 2 that may be operatively connected by a link 2 with a lever l1 pivoted on ya transverse shaft 11a mounted on top of the tank; and this lever ll may be connected by a link 6h with the outer end of the lever Gf. When the slide 2 is moved outward to close the opening 2i it will engage the lower end of thelever 7 and tilt same upwardand out of the canway into inactive position, as shown in full lines in lFig. 1 .g but when the slide 2n' is retracted the lever 7 will be thrown into operative position by means of a spring 7 connected to the tail end 7e of said lever, as illustrated in The lever 11 may be .operated by a handle rod 11 that may extend to a point convenient for its manipulation by the operator `when at the discharge end of the machine.

By throwing lever 1l to one position the slide 2 will be retracted and the levers 6 and 7 shifted to operative position so that the cans 4will be discharged thereby. By throwing the lever llto the opposite osition the lever 6 will be lowered, and t e opening covered, and lever 7 raised. a

A discharge wheel 9 is preferably provided at each exit opening; these wheels are preferably constructed of opposite disks 9, between2 which are hinged pivoted radially disposed pusher plates 9d that are adapted to engage the cans as they reach the point of discharge and move the cans up under the shield 18 and discharge them over the wheel onto the chute 9". `'llhese hinged plates 9d are normally yieldingly held in operative position by means of springs 9", see Fig'. 7, so in case they should not properly engage a can they could;l yield and prevent injury to either the can or the discharge wheel. The discharge wheels #may be provided with transverse rods 9t intermediate the plates 9dto prevent the cans dropping between adj acent plates.

ln the drawings for simplicity of` illustra tion l have only shown every other run of the canway provided with a discharge open ing, but the number of such openingscan be varied according to the number or variety of cooks to be obtained for each series of cans fed thereto.

ln Fig. 6 lf have indicated how each run of the canway might be provided with discharge openings and how the discharge wheels are provided for 'each canway. 'While l do not consider the invention restricted to the employment of any particular number of discharge openings, a plui rality of discharges is most desirable for reasons above stated.

llt will be seen that the invention is not limited to any particular construction or number of feeding and delivering devices;

-nor to any.` particular construction of the pathway. The 'utility of the invention and the great flexibility of the apparatus constructed in accordance therewith is obvious, and when treating goods requiring only a very diort time in the cooker or chamber the apparatus shown can handle about three times the quantity of goods that could be handled in ordinary machines of the same size, having but a .single feed and delivery. l rllhe feeds and deliveries can be adjusted 'so that a plurality of goods or packages, or similar kinds, of'diderent kinds, may be simultaneously treated or cooked in the same apparatus.

The tank is preferably substantially closed and for high pressure cooking would have to Ibe practically substantially steam-tight; and the feed. and discharge devices also su-bstantially steam-tight.

llt will be seen that in the machine shown there is one spirial canway and a plurality of means for feeding the cansto diderent parts of the same canway; and the cans fed in at the rst feed may if .desired be caused totravel through the entire machine, the

other feeds being out of operation; and by K putting one or more of the Jfeeds out of operation, and properly 'adjusting the discharge devices, the cans can be caused to move for any desired distance in the canway from the point where they enter the same to the point of discharge. This feature of feeding cans at diiderent points to the same canway, thereby enabling such cant l C and discharged at c; and also that cans may be simultaneously fed at A and discharged at a or t, while simultaneously cans can be fed at and discharged at c; also cans can be fed at A and discharged at a and simultaneously fed at B and discharged at t or c. lln short, in the apparatus shown with three feeds three series of cans of similar cooks may be fed through a the machine and cooked at the same time;

or two series of cans can be simultaneously fed through the machine and cooked for different lengths of time; or a single series of cans can be lfed through the machine and cooked for any one or two or three did'erent periods of time, assuming that the cans are traveling in each instance along the canway llt 5f maximum""length of time of desired cooks atthe same rate of speed. Of course the numberof feeds and deliveries may be varied according to the wishes of the constructor and the size and capacity of the machine desired and the minimum and ing operations.

I do not herein claim broadly providing a cooker with a plurality of discharges or means for discharging cans at a plurality of points, as that is shown in my Patent No. 1,181,057, of April 25th, 1916.

What I `claim is:

1. In combination "with a chamber and means for moving 'cans therethrough, of means for discharging the cans therefrom comprising a discharge wheel provided with -a )series of pivoted radially disposed platesl and springs for holding said plates in normal position.

2. A discharge wheel for the purpose specifled'comprislng opposite disks radially dis osedv plates pivoted between said disks, and) springs for holding said plates normally in yielding position.

3. In combination with a chamber and'l s means for moving cans therethrough a discharge wheel gcomprising opposite disks radially disposed plates pivoted between said disks, and springs for holding said plates normally in yielding position.

4. In combination a canway, means for moving cans around the way a discharge wheel above the canway switch levers for directing cans from the canway to said wheel, and means for operating said levers to direct the cans to the discharge wheel or allow them to pass thereby.

5. In combination with a canway a discharge wheel for the canway, a switch lever in the lower part of the canway below said wheell a second switch lever above the canway adj acent the wheel and means for shifting said levers in position to direct the cans out of the canway to said wheel, or to retract said levers and permit the cans to remain in the canway and move past said wheel.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I alix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN s. BAKER.. 

